28 July 2014

Hello family,

So this week we tried a new teaching technique. Make the investigator or recent convert the missionary, and one of us plays the role of an investigator. We tried it with C, a 14-year-old recent convert. Hna Hill played investigator, I was C's companion, and we taught her about repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the Sacrament. Hermana Hill asked great questions. Some of them made us laugh, and some of them really made C think and understand better the principles she was teaching. 

Then last night we tried it again. This time J (20-year-old investigator) was Hna Hill's, comp. And D (16-year-old investigator) played the member. J had to explain the Book of Mormon to me. As she was reading parts of the introduction to me, she would stop and say, ''Wow, I didn't know that!'' It sticks better when you teach it. Then I started asking a question, saying I had heard that Mormons used the Book of Mormon instead of the Bible. Julissa stopped the whole lesson, saying, ''She's attacking us!'' We broke down into laughter. Welcome to my life. And keep in mind that I asked an easy question. (And I only asked it because I wanted J to know the answer.) D, investigator posing as member, bore a powerful testimony. She has progressed so much. My favorite was when I asked her if she had followed Moroni's invitation to read and pray. In her response you could tell it was her personal testimony, not just something she was saying for the role play. 

It's also very interesting how you work together with your companion when one is the investigator and the other is the supporting companion. Even though we are on opposites sides of the room and with different roles, we are still working closely together to control the tone of lesson and to help the person learn and understand. And it turns out to be a lot of fun too. 

Saturday night we played futbol with the young women again. We get quite a few investigators who come and it's a good way for them and us to forge relationships with the members. I'm still not very good, but I'm progressing in my soccer skills. Saturday night, I was goalie (portero) for the first time. I think I did okay. I didn't let too many goals in, but Hna Hill did get two goals past me. 

I hope you all have a great week. I love you so very much!

Hermana Davis

21 July 2014

This week we decided to start working more closely with the members. All of our best efforts were coming up short. The missionaries on their own just can't help the investigators enough.

So we met with the bishop. And then we talked to many of the leaders in the ward. And now we are going to organize a ward activity. It will be something to bolster the spirits in the ward. It will also be something we can invite other people to without their having to commit to a Sunday meeting. And hopefully some of the members will have friends who accept the invitation to come.

Saturday, one of our investigators, D (age 16), accompanied us for a couple of hours! Partly it's because she's our friend, but she is definitely becoming excited about sharing. She spoke right up in our lesson and shared her positive impressions of going to church, to encourage T to keep attending. T's cousin R also came to the lesson, but even still T didn't make it to church. Hopefully next week.

Sunday we met with the bishop and some of the ward leaders to delegate assignments for the ward activity.

Sunday afternoon, we had an interesting lesson. One of our investigators was strumming his guitar when we showed up. He didn't stop as I was giving the tone for the hymn, but before long he was playing right along with us. He picked it up super fast. I was impressed, although I was also on the verge of laughing. It was so different to sing ''La Luz de La Verdad'' (Hark All Ye Nations) with guitar. I felt just a little like a cowgirl. Just saying. But I don't think it took away from the spirit of the lesson. At the couple's request we sang again at the end (Teach Me to Walk in the Light). The guitarist says he'll go to church next Sunday. I have a suspicion that he might be planning to bring his guitar......

I hope you guys are enjoying the heat (and air conditioning!) during this lovely season of the year. By Latin American standards I am still extremely white, but I am a lot less so than I used to be, in spite of using sunscreen and umbrellas.

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! You are in my prayers always.

Hermana Davis

14 July 2014

Dear Family, Grandparents, and whoever else is reading this letter, :)

I love the pictures! I looks like you had a good trip. One of the youth in the ward, was here in the same internet as us, and he liked seeing all the pictures of church history sites. He is also pilas for reading English, so he took a stab at reading the letter from Grandma and Grandpa. He was doing a really good job both on pronouncing and translating. (Pilas--adjective meaning skilled, capable, competent--often with a sense of someone who is takes initiative and gets things done.)

On Wednesday evening, we spent a little time with Cindy--one of the members in our area, who returned from a mission a year and a half ago. She served the last part of her mission in Belize, speaking English, but we almost always just use Spanish, except when she wants to practice. She is studying to be a dentist (she's in the practicas right now, which I think is a little like a residency). Hna Hill played a little bit of dress up. :)

On Saturday we discovered a new part of our area.  We did a little contacting and met Hna Transito Paz. She invited us in, and even invited us to lunch. (Wow!) We invited her to church, no pressure, didn't even ask whether she would come.

Saturday night we played soccer with the Young Women, and we brought two sisters we are teaching, Dariela and Julisa. It was a lot of fun, even though I am lousy at soccer! Hna Hill did manage to make a goal though! 

Sunday morning we went to church. As Sacrament meeting was ending, one of the sisters asked me to cover her Relief Society class. She said she hadn't been able to prepare it during the week. I think part of why she couldn't wing it had to do with not having her glasses. But it's still just hilarious for me to think about how the members see missionaries. I think they think we are super human and can teach great classes without preparation. So during Gospel Essentials class, I started looking over the lesson. 

And then....miracle! Hna Transito came into the class, with her husband and granddaughter. Wow! All we did was invited and she came to church on her own! Albeit halfway through the meeting schedule, but wow! She explained afterward that she had told her husband that she was going to go to church. He said it was late. She said that she was going to go anyway, and he tagged along. This sister is, by the way, a cousin of several ward members, so they were surprised and happy to see hna Transito at church!  

Thus with this miraculous interruption in Sunday school, I stopped preparing my lesson in any way and started focusing on my visitors. In Relief Society, I truly winged the lesson...a first for me. But I think it went quite well. I think the Spirit helped me think up examples as I went along with the lesson (fitting since the lesson was on the gift of the Holy Ghost, manual chapter 14). I talked about how the Spirit is like a watch. If we don't have a watch, we can ask someone the time (which helps, but doesn't stay current, like the Power of  the Holy Ghost). But if we want to own a watch (Gift of the Holy Ghost), we have to pay (faith, repentance, baptism, laying on of hands). And then we have to choose to use it (endure to the end). It was a little hard to manage a room full of talkative Relief Society women, but at least Hna Transito liked the lesson. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all very much! 

Sister Davis

9 July 2014

And then there are all suprises....

I am still in Porvenir with Hna Hill for another change! I am relatively sure that when I talked to President Klein Sunday night he was still planning to transfer me. But when transfer calls went out on Monday afternoon, I found out I was going to stay in the area a little longer. When I asked President about it, he said he thought he would just leave what was working alone for a little bit longer. But trust me, this transfer we are going to have to use more Spanish. This last transfer, we got just a little lazy. But this transfer, we are going to be a little more diligent about learning the language!

In this change, a senior couple, Elder and Sister Webb from Spanish Fork arrived in the mission. It's the first senior couple since the mission split. Neither one of them speaks Spanish, but their love and testimony is so strong that it fills in the gaps while they are learning. 

Hermana Davis